1. Field
The present teachings generally relate to the field of signal processing and more particularly, to a system and methods for detecting and resolving signals associated with a biological analysis platform.
2. Description of the Related Art
During biological analysis, such as nucleotide sequencing or microarray processing, photo-detectors such as charge coupled devices (CCD) may be used to detect signals arising from labeled samples or probe features responsive to selected target analytes. These signals may take the form of fluorescent or visible light emissions that are desirably analyzed to quantify observed light intensity arising from each labeled sample or probe feature and are subsequently resolved to quantitatively or qualitatively evaluate the presence of a target analyte within a sample.
Generally, the photo detector used in such a biological analysis comprises a segmented array of light-detecting elements or pixels. Each pixel's relative size is one factor that contributes to the achievable resolution of the detected image and as the image is magnified close to the order of pixel dimension various pixel effects may be observed which create difficulties in signal analysis. One common pixel effect appears as an array of squares at sharp edges in the image which may have the effect of reducing the resolution of the detected image. This pixel effect may also arise when acquiring signals from small point-like features, such as those found in microarray platforms where the feature shape and the information originating therefrom may be undesirably compromised as a result of imaging artifacts.
Consequently, there is an ongoing need for an improved approach in which photo-detectors are used to preserve the overall quality of optically detected images in biological analysis.